Casket hinge structure



R. E. PETERSON CASKET HINGE STRUCTURE Dec. 17, 1968 u W i .Z/lw 4 VJ; m fiun M/ iv pd/ Filed Aug. 24, 1965 17, 1968 R. E. PETERSON CASKET HINGE STRUCTURE 3 Sheets-Sheets Filed Aug. 24, 1965 f 4 gfi m, J Wm; r/VM xi 19 W% 5 M7 w; 1. F4,

1968 R. E. PETERSON CASKET HINGE STRUCTURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 24, 1965 W/ Z Z United States Patent 3,416,185 CASKET HINGE STRUCTURE Raymond E. Peterson, 801 Clinton Place, River Forest, II]. 60305 Filed Aug. 24, 1965, Ser. No. 482,245 2 Claims. (Cl. 16-171) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hinge assembly for joining a casket cover and a casket bottom so as to permit removal of the cover from the bottom when the cover is opened to a preselected angle. One of the hinge members has a planar portion with an edge thereof turned to form a pair of spaced sockets. The other hinge member has a planar portion with an edge turned to form an axle holding tube. Slots are formed in the sockets and extend from the ends of the sockets facing each other for distances less than the length of the sockets. The slots are spaced from the turned edges of the socket portions. The axle portions which extend beyond the axle holding tube have minimum and maximum thicknesses with the minimum thicknesses being less than and maximum thicknesses being greater than the width of the slots so that the axle portions may be inserted into and removed from the sockets through the slots.

This invention relates to a casket hinge system and particularly to a hinge system which permits removal of a casket cover from a casket bottom in certain open positions of the cover, but prevents accidental disengagement of the cover from the casket bottom in other positions of the cover.

An object is a separable hinge assembly in which all parts of the assembly remain afiixed to the casket bottom or casket cover when the cover is removed from the bottom.

Another object is a hinge assembly that can be adapted to permit removal of the cover from a casket bottom at any one of a number of open positions of the cover.

Another object is a disconnectabl hinge assembly that has the external appearance of a conventional butt hinge.

Another object is a separable hinge assembly that requires positive movement of the cover to detach the cover from the casket.

Another object is a disconnectable hinge assembly that will hold the cover to the casket when the cover is rotated past its removal position.

Another object is a hinge assembly that can be used with caskets having covers or lids formed in two parts and mounted to be moved separately.

Other objects will appear from time to time during the course of the ensuing specification and claims.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the following drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a typical casket structure embodying my invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an exploded side view of the hinge structure of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a bottom plan view of said hinge;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken through said hinge in the closed position of the cover;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken through said hinge in the open position of the cover;

FIGURE 7 is a top plan view of the portion of the hinge assembly which fastens to the casket bottom;

FIGURE 8 is an end elevational view similar to that "ice of FIGURE 2 of a modified form of the hinge of my invention;

FIGURE 9 is a side elevational view of said modified hinge assembly with a portion shown in cross-section;

FIGURE 10 is an exploded end view of said modified hinge assembly with a portion in section;

FIGURE 11 is an exploded top view of said modified hinge assembly;

FIGURE 12 is an end elevational view similar to that of FIGURE 2 of another modified form of the hinge of my invention;

FIGURE 13 is an exploded end elevational view of said hinge with a portion shown in section;

FIGURE 14 is an end elevational view similar to that of FIGURE 2 showing yet another modified form of the hinge of my invention;

FIGURE 15 is an exploded end elevational view of said hinge with a portion shown in section;

FIGURE 16 is a top plan view of said hinge; and

FIGURE 17 is an exploded top view of said hinge.

Referring to FIGURE 1, the numeral 20 generally indicates a casket having a bottom portion 21 and a cover or lid, generally indicated at 22, attached thereto. The cover or lid may be of the half couch type divided into sections 23 and 24 with section 23 being the head section. A toggle linkage or top support 25 may be provided to hold each section of the cover in its open position. A gasket 26 is aflixed to the top perimeter 27 of the casket bottom 21 to contact the lower perimeter 28 of the casket cover when the cover is closed to act as a seal between these parts. Hinge means general-1y indicated at 29 connect the cover sections 23 and 24 to the casket bottom.

My invention is directed specifically to the hinge structure 29 which may include a hinge member 31 adapted to be fastened to the casket bottom 21, a hinge member 32 adapted to be attached to one of the sections 23 and 24 of the casket cover 22, and a hinge pin or hearing axle 33.

[In the form of my invention shown in FIGURE 2, the bottom hinge member 31 is adapted to be secured to the top perimeter 27 of the casket bottom and a portion of the gasket is cut away as at 41 for this purpose. This hinge member has spaced tubular mounts 34 adapted to support the hinge pin 33 outwardly of the casket bottom. A tubular socket 35 formed as part of the hinge member 32 is adapted to be journalled on the bearing axle 33. The tubular socket may have cylindrical interior and exterior surfaces, that is, the interior and exterior diameters of the socket may be generally uniform.

To permit separation of the hinge members, as shown in FIGURE 3, a slot 36 is cut in the tubular socket 35 and a complementary notch 37 is cut in the bearing axle 33 to form a planar chordal surface 38. Notching of the axle reduces the cross-sectional area and thickness of a portion of the axle and changes the shape of the crosssection of this portion to other than circular. As shown, the cross-section is in the shape of a segment of a circle and consequently has different maximum and minimum diametrical dimensions. The width of the slot 36 is made slightly greater than the minimum diametrical dimension of the notched portion but less than the maximum diametrical dimension, which is the diameter of the axle, so that the socket can only be engaged with and removed from the axle when the slot is aligned with the minimum diametrical dimension of the notched portion. The length of the notch 37 is dimensioned to be less than the distance between the tubular mounts 34 to provide bearing surfaces 39 on the shaft for engaging and supporting the socket throughout rotation of the axle. The opposite ends of the socket adjacent the slot are cut away at 40 to permit the socket to clear the axle when the hinge members are separated.

The location of the slot 36 and the alignment of the minimum diametrical dimension of the reduced thickness portion of the axle 33 can be adjusted to permit separation of the hinge and removal of the cover 22 from the casket bottom 21 in various angular positions of the cover relative to the bottom. In FIGURE 1, the axle and slot are oriented so that the cover cannot be removed until it is opened through an angle of at least 90 relative to the bottom. This arrangement of the axle and slot prevents accidental separation of the cover during normal opening and closing of the cover since the normal fully open position of the cover lies in the range of 75 -85 In order to open the cover to a 90 angle it is first necessary to disconnect the toggle linkage 25. An additional safety factor is found in the construction of this hinge which necessitates that the cover be lifted in a direction radially of the hinge axle in order to separate the hinge parts. This prevents accidental separation of the cover from the bottom when the cover is rotated past its lift off position.

In a modified form of my invention depicted in FIG- URES 8-11, a hinge member 50 is adapted to be fastened to the bottom 21 of the casket and a member 51 is adapted to be fastened to the cover 22 of the casket. A bearing axle 52 is carried by the member 51 and is adapted to be journalled in spaced tubular sockets 53 formed as parts of the member 50. The bearing axle fits in a tubular portion 54 of the member 51 and extends beyond the opposite ends of this tubular member to form trunnions 55 which journal in the tubular sockets. The tubular sockets 53 and tubular portion 54 may be formed in the same manner as corresponding parts of a conventional butt hinge. This is accomplished by turning one edge of the planar portion of each member upon itself until the edge contacts the planar portion. This construction is shown most clearly in FIGURE 10.

To allow the hinge members 51 and 50 to be separated, slots 56 are formed in the tubular sockets 53 and the trunnions 55 are cut away at 57 to reduce their crosssectional areas to permit their passage through the slots. The cutaway portions 57 are general segmental in crosssection so as to form the trunnions with cros'ssections that are generally rectangular but have one set of arcuate or rounded sides. The major walls of the trunnions are defined by surfaces 58 which are chords of the axle crosssection and by arcuate surfaces 59 which lie in the outer surface of the axle. When the surfaces 59 of the trunnions are aligned with the slots 56, the hinge members can be separated. In other angular positions of these members, the arcuate surfaces 59 journal on the interior walls of the tubular sockets 53 to allow rotation of the hinge members relative to each other. Headed plugs 60 may be inserted into the opposite end-s of the tubular mounts 53 to give the hinge assembly the appearance of a conventional butt hinge.

The positioning of the slots 56 and the trunnions 55 relative to the members 50 and 51 can be adjusted to permit removal of the cover 22 at any one of a number of different positions of rotation relative to the casket bottom 21. In the embodiment of my invention shown in FIGURE 8, the slots face in a generally horizontal direction to permit the cover to be removed when it is rotated 90 from the casket bottom. For ease in changing the angle at which the cover may be removed and to eliminate the necessity of changing the position of the slots 56 for each selected position of removal of the cover, the bearing axle 52 is formed as a separate unit which may be rotated in the tubular portion 54 of the member 51. The axle may be locked at any desired angular position by securing the axle to the tubular portion 54 by welding, crimping or any other suitable means. 7

Although I have described the slots as being cut in the spaced tubular sockets 53 and the axle as being held in the 4 tubular portion 54 of the member 51 it should be understood that the relative positions of these parts can be reversed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

A slightly modified version of the second form of my invention is shown in FIGURES l2 and 13. In this version a hinge member 70 is adapted to be fastened to the side of the casket bottom 21 rather than to the top perimeter 27. As shown, this hinge member includes spaced tubular mounts 71 having slots 72. The tubular mounting socket 71 is formed in the manner of a similar part of a conventional butt hinge by turning one edge of the flat planar portion back upon itself until it contacts the planar portion. This is shown in FIGURE 13. In all other aspects, this hinge operates in the same manner as the hinge described in FIGURES 8 through 11.

An adaptation of my invention to a hinge for a casket not having a seal is shown in FIGURES 14 through 17, inclusive. In this modified construction, a hinge member is adapted to be fastened to the bottom 21 of the casket and a hinge member 81 is adapted to be fastened to the cover 22 of the casket. A bearing axle 8-2 is carried by the member 81 and is adapted to be journaled in spaced tubular sockets 83 formed as parts of the member 80. The bearing axle fits in a tubular portion 84 of the member 81 and extends beyond the opposite ends of this tubular member to form trunnions 85 which journal in the tubular sockets. The tubular socket 83 and tubular portion 84 ma be formed in the manner of a conventional butt hinge in which one edge of the planar portion of each is turned upon itself to contact the planar portion.

To permit the hinge members 80 and 81 to be separated, slots 86 are formed in the tubular sockets 83 and the trunnions 85 are cut away at 87 to reduce their cross-sectional areas to permit passage of the trunnions through the slots. The cut away portions 87 are generally segmental in cross-section so as to form the trunnions with cross-sections that are generally rectangular, but have one set of arcuate or rounded sides. The major walls of the trunnions are defined by surfaces 88 which are cords of the axle cross-section and by arcuate surfaces 89 which lie in the outer surface of the axle. When the surfaces 89 of the trunnions are aligned with the slots 86, the hinge members can be separated. In other angular positions of these members, the arcuate surfaces 89 journal on the interior walls of the tubular sockets 83 to allow rotation of the hinge members relative to each other. Headed plugs 90 may be inserted into the opposite ends of the tubular mounts 83 to give the hinge assembly the appearance of the conventional butt hinge. The hinge member 80 which attaches to the casket bottom 21 is cut away at 91 to form an opening to receive the hinge member 81 which also is cut away at 92 to fit inside the cut away portion 91 to permit the hinge members to come together flush and lie in a single plane.

The use, operation and function of my invention are as follows:

It is customary in the casket manufacturing business for a casket shell to be made by one concern and the up holstering to be done at a different location by others. When the casket is being upholstered the cover is usually removed in order to obtain access to the interior of the cover and the bottom. If the caskets are equipped with conventional hinges it is necessary to remove the hinge pins before removing the cover. Not infrequently, the upholsterers lose or damage the hinge pins and also damage the finish of the casket in removing the hinge pins. Time is lost and expense is incurred in obtaining the new hinge pins needed to replace the cover and in refinishing the casket. It is also necessary at times for funeral directors to remove the casket covers and this has created difficulties for similar reasons.

My invention provides a hinge construction permitting easy detachment of the cover from the casket bottom without removing the hinge pin from the hinge structure. This construction also provides complete safety against accidental disengagement of the cover and the casket bottom during movement through all of the normally open positions of the cover. Additionally, my hinge construction provides the smooth finished appearance of a conventional butt hinge without any ragged parts to catch on clothing or unholstering materials.

The above advantages are obtained by securing the hinge axle to one of the hinge members and providing one or more tubular sockets for the axle as part of the other member. A slot or slots are cut in the tubular sockets and one or more corresponding portions of the axle are notched to provide a portion of the axle with a crosssection other than circular and having maximum and minimum diametrical dimensions that are different, so that the axle may be removed through the slots at certain positions of rotation of the axle relative to the sockets.

The maximum diametrical dimension is equal to the diameter of the axle and the minimum diametrical distance is less than the diameter. The width of the slots in the tubular sockets is made slightly greater than the minimum diametrical dimension but less than the maximum diametrical dimension of this cross-section. Therefore, the axle can be inserted into or removed from the sockets only when the axle and the sockets are rotated 50 that the minimum diametrical dimension of the reduced portion of the axle is aligned with the slots.

Additional features of safety and operating convenience are provided by my hinge structure which requires a positive movement of the cover in a direction generally radial to the hinge axle in order to remove the cover from the casket bottom in its separation position. This separation position may be located beyond the normal fully opened position of the cover, which is usually 90 from the closed position, so that it is necessary to disconnect the toggle linkage or top support before the cover can be opened to the position in which it can be removed. It is advantageous to locate the separation position at an angle of approximately 135 from the closed position of the cover because with the cover at this angle the person removing the cover has an unimpeded view of the hinges.

I claim:

1. A hinge assembly for joining a casket cover and a casket bottom, including:

a pair of hinge members formed and adapted to be attached respectively to the bottom and to the cover of the casket,

one of said hinge members having a flat planar portion with at least one part of one edge thereof turned upon itself to contact said planar portion and thereby form at least one socket of substantially circular cross-section,

the other of said hinge members having axle portions journalled in at least one of said sockets,

said axle portions each having a cross-section of noncircular configuration with a larger diametrical dimension and a smaller diametrical dimension, and

at least one longitudinally extending slot stormed in each socket and extending from an end of a socket for a distance less than the length of said socket,

each slot being located away from the edge of each socket which contacts said planar portion with each slot having a width greater than the smaller diametrical dimension of said axle portion, but less than the greater diametrical dimension of said axle portion,

said hinge members being movable into and out of journalled relationship with each other by aligning said smaller diametrical dimensions of said axle portions with said slots and moving said axle portions through said slots,

said axle portions and said slots being aligned relative to said cover to permit insertion of said hinge members into and removal of the hinge members from each other only when said cover is open to a preselected angle relative to said bottom,

said flat planar portion of one of said hinge members is turned upon itself to form two spaced sockets of substantially circular cross-section openings towards each other and said axle portions of said other hinge members are positioned at the opposite ends thereof and are journalled in said spaced sockets, and

said longitudinally extending slot formed in each socket extends from the end of the socket facing said other socket.

2. A hinge assembly for joining a casket cover and a casket bottom, including:

a pair of hinge members formed and adapted to be attached respectively to the bottom and to the cover of the casket,

one of said hinge members having a flat planar portion with at least one part of one edge thereof turned upon itself to contact said planar portion and thereby form at least one socket of substantially circular cross-section,

the other of said hinge members having axle portions journalled in at least one of said sockets,

said axle portions each having a cross-section of noncircular configuration with a larger diametrical dimension and a smaller diametrical dimension, and

at least one longitudinally extending slot formed in each socket and extending from an end of a socket for a distance less than the length of said socket,

each slot being located away from the edge of each socket which contacts said planar portion with each slot having a width greater than the smaller diametrical dimension of said axle portion, but less than the greater diametrical dimension of said axle portion,

said hinge members being movable into and out of journalled relationship with each other by aligning said smaller diametrical dimensions of said axle portions with said slots and moving said axle portions through said slots,

said axle portions and said slots being aligned relative to said cover to permit insertion of said hinge members into and removal of the hinge members from each other only when said cover is open to a preselected angle relative to said bottom,

said other of said hinge members has a flat planar portion with at least one part of one edge thereof turned upon itself to contact said planar portion and form a tubular portion, said axle portions are held in said tubular portion and extend beyond the ends thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 599,043 2/1898 Lautner 27-18 X 1,360,481 11/1920 Watson 16-171 1,632,116 6/1927 Buss 16-171 2,058,341 10/1936 Mink 10-171 X 2,933,016 4/1960 Kunde et al. 16-171 X 3,283,386 11/1966 Cenegy 27-7 X RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner. W. E. KAMM, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 16-172; 27-16 

